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Sorry - this page has been removed. Woman sprayed with champagne by Lewis Hamilton plays down incident
(2 months later)
This could be because it launched early, our rights have expired, there was a legal issue, or for another reason. The woman who had champagne sprayed in her face by the Chinese Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton has played down the incident after the Formula One world champion was accused of sexist bullying.
Liu Siying, a 22-year-old graduate of the Shanghai Institute of Visual Art who works for a real estate company, told the Shanghai Daily: “It lasted for only one or two seconds, and I didn’t think too much about it.
For further information, please contact: “I think some foreign media are more sensitive about the topic than local media. I was just told by my employer to stand on the podium, and that’s what I did.”
Related: Amnesty warns human rights abuses ‘unabated’ before Bahrain Grand Prix
The incident, highlighted in photographs that showed Liu recoiling as the Mercedes driver aimed a stream of champagne at her, triggered condemnation from critics in Britain and Germany as well as on Chinese social media.
Hamilton, asked about the incident after arriving in Bahrain for this weekend’s race, described it as “a fun thing”, and was relieved to hear Liu’s comments.
“I hadn’t really heard too much about it until today,” said Hamilton. “Obviously when you arrive [at the circuit] you get a debrief as to what has happened during the week, so fortunately for me it has not overshadowed my week.
“Ultimately it was a great weekend, and generally my actions are through excitement. This is Formula One – the pinnacle of motor sport – and I’d just won a grand prix for the team.
“You should see it was a kind of a fun thing. I would never ever intend to disrespect or try to embarrass someone like that. I don’t really know the reasons why people have brought these things up.
“This is a sport so many people love, and the more we show character and fun it reflects how great this sport is, and that’s what I try to do. It hasn’t affected me, and it’s nice to know the lady kind of wrote in. If she had wrote in and said she was really unhappy then perhaps I would be more concerned.”